The Legend of the Fox Yokai of Jirisan

The amount of yogi the blue-furred demonic fox left me was beyond what I could fathom.
For the first time, I trembled from the overwhelming exhilaration.
Only then did I realize why the blue-furred demonic fox had arrogantly referred to herself as ‘this one.’
With such staggering yogi, how could she not be arrogant?

“…”
I feel uneasy.
Though this much yogi was enough for me to live without worrying about human males for a lifetime,
I never wanted to take her yogi by force.
Of course, as a fox clinging to life, I wanted to survive by any means necessary.
In fact, that’s precisely why I had ventured into this perilous inner realm of Jirisan – to somehow find a way to survive.
But I did not wish to live by taking another life.

The amount was too much for my mere three tails to handle, so I had no choice but to forcibly maintain my six-tailed state.

Afterwards, I immediately approached the people whose livers had been devoured by the blue-furred demonic fox and healed them.
Healing their wounds was easy.
By engulfing their casually collapsed, disemboweled bodies with Fox Fire, their flesh regenerated, and the bleeding stopped.
Indeed, the healing power of Fox Fire when manifesting six tails was formidable.

After all, these were people unrelated to me.
No, they were even adversaries, yet the simple reason I used my precious yogi to heal them was:
They would have died otherwise.
Even if I called 119, they would not have lasted until the ambulance arrived.
I am not a psychopath.
Having the power to heal them, yet watching and doing nothing is not something a human would do, is it?
Yes.
Saving human lives is as natural a principle as casting a net to catch fish.

After healing the men whose livers were devoured, I immediately approached the Martial Artist.
Her condition was critical.
She had holes all over her body, not a single unscathed spot, and her neck seemed to have been mauled by the demonic fox, half torn off.
It was bewildering how she was still clinging to life.
Perhaps it was thanks to the mysterious power of bakryeok that she could hold on.
Naturally, I also healed her with Fox Fire.
Unlike the others, her injuries were so severe that I had to expend a considerable amount of yogi – about a year’s worth of my lifespan.
But I did not feel the slightest regret.
My intention from the start was to save lives, and
The amount of yogi the blue-furred demonic fox had left me was more than enough.

“Ungh…”
Ah.
She is gradually regaining consciousness.

“Why am I still… Ah, you’re…”
“Don’t speak. You’re not fully healed yet.”
“You… You saved me…?”
“…”
“But why…? You’re, you’re a yokai…”
“…Just stay quiet, it’s almost done.”

No.
I’m not a yokai.
I’m human.
Though my outward appearance is that of a yokai, I am human, just like you.

I wanted to candidly share my inner thoughts with this stranger whose name I didn’t even know, but reality can be cruel.
No matter my true feelings, with the appearance of a six-tailed fox yokai, I am her enemy.

The healing is nearly complete.
She will need to rest for a while, but her life is no longer in danger.

“There are people collapsed over there. Probably government officials, take good care of them.”
“Th, they’re all alive? How… Could it be, even they were…?”
“…”

I turned to leave, but she trembled as she forced her body up, stopping me.
“W, wait! There’s something I must tell you…”
“I’m going.”
“Ah… Th, then, your name! At least tell me your name…!”

This nameless woman was quite tenacious.
For some reason, she seemed very interested in me, even asking for my name.
…Come to think of it,
She may be the first person in the world to ask a yokai for its name.
A peculiar person indeed.

Yet I did not particularly dislike it, so I turned to face her, gave a smile, and said:
“Miho.”

“Ah… Th, then, my, my name is…!”

After telling her my name, I truly did turn and swiftly descend from Jirisan.
I had a strong premonition that if I lingered any longer, she would detain me for a conversation.
Of course, it was a bit regrettable. It had been nearly two years since I last conversed with a human, and I too welcomed the chance.
But what good could come from a yokai and human conversing?
Moreover, after this tumultuous incident, I doubted the government would leave Jirisan be.
Perhaps soon, government officials or news reporters would be swarming the mountain.

…Still.
I should have at least asked for her name.

[Ha-neul! Ha-neul!]

Then,
An echo rang out from the mountain peak.
Ha-neul.
A nice name.
I committed it to memory.

A week had passed since the blue-furred fox yokai incident.
The ‘Jirisan Blue-Furred Fox Yokai Incident’ could not be covered up, so it made headlines.

[A fox yokai appearing for the first time in 500 years since yokai were first observed]
[The fox yokai thought to be Grade 4 was actually Grade 3?]
[58 casualties, 0 deaths… The Miracle of Jirisan]
[Ha-neul, the Martial Artist who defeated the blue-furred demonic fox, who is she?]
[Ha-neul, once a promising prodigy, back in the spotlight…]

A fox yokai observed for the first time in 500 years.
58 casualties, 0 deaths.
The Martial Artist Ha-neul who defeated the presumed Grade 3 fox yokai.
It was not just one or two headlines.

The Yokai Extermination Office at Jirisan National Park, the center of this incident, also had a relentlessly busy period.
As is common for government agencies executing duties, they promptly returned to their daily routines without properly recovering.
It was proof of just how remarkable the healing effects of ‘Fox Fire’ were.

Fortunately, the officials did not suffer from trauma.
The sheer joy of surviving against all odds was far more intense than any trauma they might have felt.

They handled the aftermath of the incident.
Cutting down all the yogi-infested trees, planting new ones, and reinforcing their efforts to prevent such a catastrophe from ever reoccurring.

The director of the Yokai Extermination Office, Grade 4 Administrative Officer Lee Han-ul, who had overseen everything from the extermination to the clean-up process, found himself in quite a predicament.
It was not due to any aftereffects from having his liver devoured.
Like the others, the relief of survival prevented him from suffering trauma.
Nor was it because of reprimands from higher authorities.
Despite blatantly disregarding protocol and even facing annihilation, he instead received a ministerial commendation for the achievement of subjugating a Grade 3 fox yokai.

The reason for his predicament was
The Yokai Extermination Office staff beginning to idolize foxes.

“Hey Myeong-ho! Isn’t this the limited 50-piece figure? How did you get it?”
“Hehehe… I won it. Look at the quality. Not bad, right?”
“The resemblance is insane? White hair, even the school uniform, it’s like a replica! Ah, but the fox ears on the head are a bit off.”
“It’s not a custom order, so we have to settle for this much. Still, this Tomoyo character bears some resemblance to the one who saved us.”
“And it has nine tails?”
“Ah… That’s the biggest letdown. No matter how hard I looked, there were no six-tailed ota figurines. Maybe we should crowdfund one ourselves?”

The Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office staff, having had their livers devoured and faced certain death that day,
Were able to spot a total of two fox yokai.
One was the blue-furred demonic fox, so vile that tearing it to shreds would not be enough.
The other… No, the other was a beautiful woman in her early twenties with white hair and six tails.
It was she who had saved their lives, inspiring them to idolize the ‘White Fox.’

Of course, including Director Lee Han-ul, all the staff knew she was merely a yokai.
Yet during interviews with reporters and in their reports, the staff never mentioned the one who had saved their lives.
Director Lee Han-ul was no exception.
Even he, the director upholding Jirisan, could not bring himself to include in his report the kind-hearted being who had saved his life.

Lee Han-ul sighed again.
He did not particularly regret protecting the white fox yokai, but
Watching his staff become increasingly obsessed with idolizing the White Fox, he could not help but sigh.

The White Fox here.
The White Fox there.
White Fox posters.
White Fox t-shirts.
White Fox figurines, White Fox phone cases… The Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office was utterly plastered with the White Fox.
If the higher authorities witnessed this spectacle at the Jirisan institute,
He had a feeling it would not end with just a simple reprimand.